European Commission invokes safeguard clause
against Bulgaria on aviation safety

Is the safeguard clause similar to a ban of BG carriers in EU
sky?

The answer is no.

Its main effect is to exclude BG air carriers from the benefit of being
considered a "Community carrier". BG carriers may continue to operate as "third
country operators" to and from Member States in accordance with existing
bilateral agreements. However they will have to comply with EU safety rules and
might be grounded by Member States if found seriously defective during a ramp
inspection.

Is air safety at stake and if yes will you allow BG carriers to operate
in EU sky?

It is clear that the situation identified raises
concerns about the safety of operations. Therefore, the safeguard clause is
without prejudice of further measures that could be taken by the Member States
or the Commission vis-à-vis the BG carriers.

Is Bulgaria Air to be put on the Black List?

The
Commission is not targeting a particular company. We are urgently assessing the
situation of each BG carrier and we will draw our conclusions which will be
forwarded to the EU Air Safety Committee in February.

Could an EU citizen buy a flight ticket on a Bulgarian Company after the
1st of January 2007 to travel from an EU country to
BG?

Yes.

Is the Bulgarian Civil Aviation Authority in position to perform all his
duties?

Deficiencies concerning the capacity of the BG CAA to
exercise correctly the oversight of aircraft personnel and maintenance
organisations have been highlighted by the EASA report. These deficiencies are
considered by the Commission serious enough to adopt the safeguard clause.

Why this come by so sudden?

These difficulties have been
identified last year already. In 2005, a joint EASA Member States inspection
already identified several deficiencies and an action plan was elaborated by the
BG authorities to solve the problems. However, faced by lack of implementation
of the plan, a warning signal was given by the Commission in its latest Report
of the 26 September 2006 on the Enlargement process, stating that improvements
were urgently needed and the Bulgarian authorities were supposed to fulfil their
obligations regarding this assessment. The attention of the Prime Minister and
of the Transport Minister was repeatedly drawn to this situation. A new visit
was performed by EASA before the date of accession. Unfortunately, it proved
that the situation remains unsatisfactory.